Urban Administration in India: Experiences of Fifty Years

Urban administration in India has attracted the attention of policy formulators, planners, administrators, sociologists and academia in recent few decades. Although the country has been witnessing a fall in growth in urban population, the concentration of population in larger urban areas has resulted into an urban chaos. The uncontrolled, unplanned and haphazard growth of urban centres is leading to great pressure on urban services, mushrooming of habitations with inhuman surroundings, degradation in environment, polluted air, water and noise. The cities are becoming inhabitable decade after decade. The institutional mechanism has either failed to cope with the situtation or become weak and inefficient. The people are more vocal and demanding but less responsible and civil. The irreversible trend of urbanization warrants sustainable interventions.The first fifty years of Independence have faced many ups and downs in the sphere of urban administration. The historic 74th Amendment to the Countrys Constitution was a major policy directive enacted during the period. This harbinger effort is a turning point in the life and functioning of urban local government. The volume makes an assessment of strategies for administering the urban areas in the country.